Hello, folks! I was just admitted off the UC Berkeley wait list and still deciding to pick a college. This seems like an obvious answer, however, I do have special circumstances that will obviously want me to consider CPP. I am currently doing pre-medicine and admitted into CNR, but I may plan on switching to an engineering major if I find out med school is not for me.
Cal Poly Pomona Pros:
-20-minute commute from home
-Affordable ( Full Ride scholarship)
-Honors Program
-If I do switch to engineering, its easy to do so and great program
-High GPA average for school
- I already established connections with hospitals and doctors in my area.
Cons :
-Not the best pre-med program
-Cal State not as prestigious as UC. Could possibly hurt me when applying to med school.
UC Berkeley:
Pros:
-Love the campus
-Nice Location
-Rigor will prepare me for med school
-If I do switch to engineering, top engineering program.
-Prestigious
- 55% get into med school from UCB ( 41% average)
Cons:
-Depression irks in the campus from what I hear
- Hard to switch into engineering program
My gut is telling me UC Berkeley because of the great opportunities and potential presented at UCB. The only thing that is preventing me from SIRing to Berkeley is the difficulty presented from switching to CoE. However, I do have a cousin who was able to switch from LS to CoE. He said that it was relatively easy and that the reason they present it as being so difficult is to prevent students from having an easy “backdoor” to the CoE. Not sure if he was just lucky, but does anyone have any insight about switching. Any other pros and cons I should think about? Sorry for any spelling mistakes and/or bad grammar.
Depression “irks” in the campus? You mean “lurks”, by any chance?
Take the money, you’ll need it for med school.
Agree with @Muad_dib. CPP offers no debt and medical connections. Just ask the physicians and mid-levels their opinion…no debt undergrad or well known undergrad with debt? Do well at CPP, get great LORS and you’ll land in a fine med school.
I think you’ve gotten some good advice so far. GPA is SUPER SUPER SUPER important to get into med school - Cal is eats up pre-meds right and left. Lots of kids come out of decent (but not tippy top) schools and into very good medical schools. Save your money and get rocking grades at CPP.
Also, your chances of switching to engineering at Cal are practically nil, so take that possibility right off of the table.
Don’t know anything about Cal Poly Pomona, but you can easily switch into L&S CS at Cal if pre-med doesn’t work out - it’s pretty much the same thing as EECS in the College of Engineering but with L&S breadths requirements instead of CoE requirements and EE16B. I’m doing both CS and Pre-Med here at Cal and I can honestly say it hasn’t been too bad so far.
I’ve already gotten a considerable chunk of med school prereqs done and still have a very high GPA. There are also a ton of research opportunities and premed clubs here that you might not be able to find at other schools.
If I were you, I would go with Cal 100%.
@yinuos OP was talking about switching to engineering. Yes, it would be somewhat easier to go from CNA to L&S, although there is probably a GPA requirement for CS. Engineering, no.
FYI, L&S CS is a BA, engineering is a BS, so they are not the same thing. The degree distinction might make a difference to the outside world.
@Undercrackers I don’t think so. L&S CS students have no problem finding the same jobs as EECS majors and making around the same salary ( https://career.berkeley.edu/Survey/2016Majors ).
@collegegotmecoco it really doesn’t matter where you do your undergrad for med school. Your gpa and mcat score matter. I know a medical director who graduated from a cal state school and went on to graduate from Harvard medical school.
Keep your eye on the prize which is med school!!
Where you go to med school will matter way more than your undergrad and by going to CPP you increase your chances of going to med school by a tremendous amount.
@CALSmom Absolutely and that’s the big point I’ve been considering. I’ve been talking with resident physicians/recent med school graduates and they insist Berkeley with an “easier” major. I have luckily applied to CNR as a Nutrition major and talking with Berkeley premed students they insist that I’ve made a good choice as its one of the few science majors that dont destroy gpa. Its not guaranteed that I’ll be top of my class at CPP, but doing so will help me greatly. Ehh I stll cant make up my mind. lol
@CALSmom And I’ve also been considering the possibility of transferring too. If I choose CPP, I would miss the opportunity of going to Berkeley and will most likely never attend. However, If I do attend Berkely and if I feel like it isn’t for me, I have a greater chance of transferring to CPP than vice versa.